The Policenauts E-Mail Campaign

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You want it. We want it. So let's get it already

By IGNPS2

As a favor to fans everywhere, IGN is throwing its hat into the recent worldwide email movement for an American release of the classic Hideo Kojima-developed graphic adventure Policenauts. Almost completed for the Sega Saturn in the U.S. before being cancelled years ago, this Japanese-only legend of videogames is being re-released on the PSOne for what is believed to be the final time. Worried that this could be the final opportunity for western gamers to give this classic a try, IGN reader Marc Laidlaw wrote us the following impassioned letter.

Dear IGN,

I come to you asking if you guys would be able to do something to help out some grass-roots gamers. I know what I'm about to pose to you is maybe too much, but I figured it doesn't hurt to ask.

What we are trying to do is get Policenauts released in the West. I'm sure as a reviewer you see some real crap get released, and it must irritate you when quality games like this stay in Japan while games like BMX XXX are shovel-fed to American gamers.

What we're doing right now is an email writing campaign, not an online petition or anything like that. You may recall that three years ago, there was an online petition at Konami of America's message boards. This was actually a success, as Konami of America discussed localizing the game with Konami of Japan, but Hideo Kojima said that he didn't want to bother with this older title. What is kind of irritating is that now he is working on Twin Snakes, a game the whole world has already played, while a masterpiece like Policenauts remains unreleased in the West. But I won't go into that...

Anyway, many people, including myself, feel that because: a). Kojima is working on Twin Snakes, and b). Policenauts is getting re-released in Japan (most likely for the last time) in a few weeks and the game is fresh in their minds, now would be a good time to show Konami of Japan directly that consumer interest is still there. One way we can be absolutely sure nothing will happen is by standing by and giving up on the situation.

However, getting word of this kind of movement out is hard, and that's where I was hoping you could help out. I was wondering if you could post a small news story about this in your news section... I understand that this is unusual and not necessarily a "news story", but let's face it, IGN is one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet and having a news story on your site would make a big difference. We are posting information about this campaign in forums, but as we learned from the previous time, actual news stories posted on game sites are by far the most successful at informing people.

I realize that this isn't a petition, but only a letter writing campaign, but I was still wondering if you could help us out. If you decide that you can, I can give you all the information about the drive you would need, i.e. where to write to.

While I hope you are able to do something to help us, I'm aware of the nature of this request, so if you can't do anything, I understand. In any event, thank you very much for your time.

Respectfully yours, Marc Laidlaw

Moved by Marc's letter, we here at IGN have decided to get into the action ourselves are calling out to our readers for help. Do you want to see Policenauts in North America? Want to experience an absolutely brilliant piece of gaming software? Then email Konami right now and demand it for our shores. With luck and plenty of support, we can all help to make it happen!